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Issue #12 |
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In this issue: Comics and the Rise of Pop Art
—Featuring a candid conversation with former Low bassist-turned-indie comics impresario, Zak Sally on his new gig running La Mano 21 Publishing and how to make meaningful art without adding to the cultural trash heap
You’d have to be living under a rock not to be aware of the growing influence of comics—in literature, in art, hell… even in politics. Here in Minnesota, we too have a thriving community of artists who create strips of all kinds — for newspapers, the Web, ’zines, and beautifully printed limited edition books. And galleries are taking notice of the visual artists responsible for the eye-popping artwork filling their pages. For this issue of a+E, we want to point you toward some of this extraordinary homegrown talent in the field. a+E contributor Matt Konrad sits down with Zak Sally for a free-ranging conversation on indie
comics — the joys and tribulations of writing them, reading them, and trying to make a living from them. (By the way, this month’s mnAccess is a great opportunity to get a deal on La Mano 21’s comics, including a discount on signed copies of Sally’s own Recidivist.) And if you haven’t already explored the delightfully demented landscape of Ryan Kelly’s pop art, this issue’s Zoom In is going to be a treat. We're inaugurating a new feature, Homepage, that'll give you a rundown of the newest can't-miss features on mnartists.org. And, finally, Santa got your letter: You Are Here includes a smorgasbord of holiday events for you, both naughty and nice. All of us at mnartists.org want to wish you and yours the happiest of holidays. We’ll see you again in the New Year!
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Zoom In: Comics artist and painter Ryan Kelly |
RYAN KELLY IS SUCH A NICE GUY TO TALK TO. HE’S DISARMINGLY SELF-DEPRECATING AND SOFT-SPOKEN; his sense of humor is dry and his jokes are usually at his own  expense. Given the high-caliber impact of his paintings and comics, his easygoing demeanor took me aback. You’ll know what I mean when you browse through Kelly’s work: his most effective paintings are politically charged punches in the gut, some with an accessible, surreal narrative, others that serve as tangled, epic visual morality tales reminiscent of nothing so much as Hieronymus Bosch’s medieval triptychs. Kelly’s paintings invite the viewer to a universe filled with cherub-faced menace and pulp sci-fi delights, where doe-eyed, chubby-cheeked girls pack heat or bring on an apocalypse. Appealingly strange and wonderful as his paintings are, Kelly’s day-job inking and drawing for comics is what he’s best known for. His boldly rendered comics artwork has earned him national acclaim and steady work with indie presses and the powerhouse comics publisher DC/Vertigo alike.
 Given all that, Kelly’s beginnings as a painter were less auspicious than you’d expect. “When I was a kid, I taught myself to paint by copying National Geographic photos and painting them, matching the colors by eye. I was trying to render in painting exactly what was in the photo… It was a really time-consuming process, so I guess I was kind of a loser as a kid spending all that time, copying and painting photographs up alone in my room. [laughing] Later, I found Warhol and Basquiat, and my painting got a little looser, weirder. I think my work now kind of combines all of that. I really like speed painting, putting all those influences right next to each other, smacking them into each other without thinking it out too much, to see what happens.”
What about the politics behind his art? “Each piece feels to me like a stand-alone political punk song. I hear about something in the news, I think about it, and then I paint it. They’re almost like illustrations or an opinion pieces. That’s a little scary for an artist, because those are really hard to sell. People might love them, but they don’t necessarily need to have them in their living rooms. But, since I’m getting gallery shows, I want to take that opportunity and use it, I want my art to say something.”
Read the article on mnartists.org and get the lowdown on what pays the bills (and what doesn't), why Kelly thinks separating "pop art" and comics from "fine art" is bunk, and how luminaries like The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Dave McKean influenced his artwork. All that and a full collection of Ryan Kelly's work — it's just a click away.
Ryan Kelly lives with his three kids and common law wife in Saint Paul where he paints, takes the occasional illustration gig, and creates artwork for a variety of acclaimed comics from well-regarded indie strips like Local and Giant Robot Warriors to mainstream comics like DC/Vertigo's American Virgin and Lucifer. You can see many of his surreal paintings on display at Rogue Buddha Gallery.
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Point of View: Zak Sally and La Mano 21 Publishing |
One in the Hand
Profile by Matt Konrad
 THE NORTHEAST MINNEAPOLIS BUILDING HOUSING THE MODEST studio and office of Zak Sally’s publishing concern, La Mano 21, is maybe the most fitting possible home for the not-quite-comics, not-quite-prose, not-quite-cult, not-quite-mainstream artist at work.
It’s a block-square white brick rabbit warren that started life as a military installation, housing dozens of artists at work drawing plans for experimental weapons and aircraft; to get to Sally’s studio and what passes for the La Mano 21 warehouse these days, there’s a longish hike down an alley, past a WWII-era watchtower, up a flight of stairs and through—no kidding—a blast door.
And while nothing that Sally is doing may have quite the dangerous impact as, say, a prototype of a laser ray, the fact is that La Mano 21 is something of a grand artistic experiment in its own way. Sally, a quiet, thoughtful guy with a quick smile, is a long-time comics fan and creator of ‘zines—those photocopied, do-it-yourself publishing forays that indie-culture fans remember fondly. But he’s best known for his last gig as the bass player in the understated Duluth rock band Low. Nowadays, he’s attempting to bridge a whole lot of long-standing gaps: between books and comics, between do-it-yourself and professional publishing, and  between working at a labor of love and making a living.
“The stuff that really, really turns my crank is the stuff that’s not one thing or the other, or doesn’t necessarily have to be one thing or the other,” Sally says over a cup of coffee in his studio, discussing the rigid genre divisions he’s trying to help overcome. “Culturally, those distinctions get really oversimplified. ‘Oh, this is a comic book, so it’s this.’ ‘Oh, this is a zine, so it’s this.’ I’ve never seen it that way, and I don’t think a lot of people see it that way.”
“I am a total nerd, I love the comics form so much, but it’s not like that’s all I read, or that’s all I’m interested in, and I think most people are the same way. So when the stuff comes up that’s more confusing, that’s when I get really excited. And I think the stuff coming down the pike with La Mano, if it happens, is pushing that a little bit more.”
 A look at La Mano 21 ’s current lineup, made up largely of former ‘zinesters and musicians, confirms the wide range of that path. First, there’s Sally's own book, Recidivist, a collection of detailed, inscrutable mini-comics in which husbands may or may not keep wives chained in the basement and businessmen with animal heads wander into mysterious hospitals in search of a cure. John Porcellino’s Diary of a Mosquito Abatement Man, by contrast, is a simply drawn autobiographical collection addressing the author’s work tales, health issues and relationship with nature. Another new La Mano 21 offering, Nate Denver’s Wait, You’re Not a Centaur, collects a bunch of surreal, speculative 50-word stories and pairs them with crude but fascinating line drawings.
In short, while most publishers would give anything to be known for a single narrow niche, Sally’s going the other way and striving to be pretty much unclassifiable—except insofar as he’s passionate about bringing to a larger audience the kind of good but odd work that tends to fall through the cracks.
“A lot of smart, savvy people—and this is changing—but ten years ago, you’d put a comic book in front of them [and they’d think] ‘this is a fuckin’ joke,’” he says. “Some people are not gonna take it seriously on some level. A ‘zine even less so. And that’s just not true. There’s stuff that has happened, and that is happening, in the ‘zine world that kicks the shit out of most literature. The same with underground comics—a lot of ‘em, the sheer quality is so much better. [Doing La Mano] makes me feel like I’m not just adding to the pile of garbage.”
It’s hard to argue with the quality of La Mano’s output thus far. Sally’s on a mission to get unknown good work out to a wider audience. Porcellino’s Mosquito Abatement stories are almost impossibly touching, self-aware, and vulnerable in the face of the natural world in the way of, say, Wendell Berry’s essays; Sally’s Recidivist work calls to mind underground legends like Chester Brown and Charles Burns with its mix of black humor, dark panels and unsolvable mysteries. When he recalls the process that went into its creation (he’s now retired from drawing the Recidivist strips), it becomes clear just how devoted Sally is to putting quality art into the world.
Wanna find out the story behind why Zak Sally calls the process of completing the Recidivist strips "awful" and read about the massive project he's working on now? Curious about the advice zine elder statesmen Aaron Cometbus gave Sally about how to make it as a comics publisher?
Yes? Then you'd better click here to read the rest of the article on mnartists.org
BONUS MATERIAL: Zak Sally, in his own words, offers the story of his life in comics in brief
"Zak Sally made his first little comic book (actually a 'zine, though he did not know that was what it was called at the time) at the age of 13 years old. He then continued to make little comics for the rest of his life. He stole copies from copy shops. He got printer friends to print them on the side. He traded them for gin in punk rock warehouses in Oakland, California and gave them to girls in Sweden with the hope that they would kiss him (they didn't).
He sold them all over the country and the world (during his 11 year tenure as bass player in the band Low). He is 35 now, he has a wife and a dog and a house and a baby boy, and he is still making little comic books.
So that is 22 years of doing this crap, if you would like to put it in your pipe and smoke it.
In 2002, Sally purchased a 50-year-old AB Dick 360 offset lithography machine for $200, and slowly began to learn to use it. His hopes were that acquiring this skill would greatly aid him in his goal of turning his 'zine label, La Mano 21 (which had actually been in existence since the early 90s, in an invisible and rat-assed sort of way), into a viable publishing operation. It is now 2006, and he sort of knows how to use the thing, but has somehow succeeded in producing four books of exceeding beauty and quality. He could not be prouder of these books and his involvement with the respective artists.
La Mano 21 is trying real hard to not add more stupid trash and bullshit to the world, as there is enough of that already thank you very much."
Photo of Zak Sally (above) and all book jacket covers appear courtesy La Mano 21 and Zak Sally. |
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Homepage: Read the latest features from mnartists.org |
Minnesota Stories Presents: mnartists Anastasia Ward
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mnartists.org and Minnesota Stories are collaborating on Minnesota Stories Presents: mnartists, a video series profiling Minnesota artists in all disciplines. Currently, the spotlight is on interactive toy sculpture artist Anastasia Ward and her "toy mashups." And on a related note, if you're a fan of Minnesota Stories, be sure to give this beloved community vlog your vote for the 2006 Best Video Blog. |
Radio mnartists:
Ron Brown
Photo of Ron Brown
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This installment of Radio mnartists series of podcasts (jointly sponsored and broadcast by KFAI Community Radio) features producer Marya Morstad chatting with Ron Brown, an educator and hip hop illustrator who calls his intricate, imaginative pop art “Afro-anime”.
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Examining Transracial and Transnational Adoption
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Thinking Souls is mnartists.org’s monthly series highlighting authors, blogs, journalists, poets, and happenings in Minnesota’s literary scene. Meet up with other avid readers in a virtual book club, where you can continue the conversation for each month’s title in the mnartists.org forums. This month's Thinking Souls includes Juliana Hu Pegues’s review of Outsiders Within: Writing on Transracial Adoption plus series host Shannon Gibney’s interview with the editors of this provocative new book.
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Is the Nonprofit Arts Sector on the Decline?
Photo of Michael Fallon
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From the forums: Have you read Michael Fallon’s article outlining what he perceives to be the decline of nonprofit arts organizations? What’s your point of view about this? Add your insights to the mix in mnartists.org’s forums.
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Call for Exhibition Proposals: Space 144
"Space 144" at the MPL
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News: Artists in the Twin Cities area are invited to submit their work for the mnartists.org-sponsored exhibition at the Minneapolis Central Library in a prominently placed display case (called “Space 144”). Please read the full Call for Proposals on mnartists.org for guidelines and details before you make your submission.
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MCAD’s Barbra Schulz Curates a Comic Art Collection
Untitled comic panel by Evan Palmer, 2006. |
Featured Collection: See the present and future of comic art in Minnesota in this intriguing collection of pieces from current students of Minneapolis College of Art and Design’s comic art program on mnartists.org. |
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Art Sales and Festivals
Rosalux Gallery Holiday Bazaar
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Here’s another chance to get a one-of-a-kind piece of art for somebody dear to you. All 23 current member artists of the Rosalux Gallery are offering affordable works for gift-giving and collecting. The show’s cash and carry so, as you’d expect, early birds will get the best selection.
Where: Rosalux Gallery, Minneapolis
When: Reception is Thursday, December 21 from 5-9 pm with wine, cider, and holiday treats. The show will run from December 19th-January 6, 2007. Gallery hours: Tues-Thurs 12-8, Fri-Sun 12-5
Tickets: FREE
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Invitational Ice Construction Event
Photo appears courtesy Rochester
Art Center
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The Rochester Art Center is hosting its third annual ice construction event, led by Materials & Applications, a Los Angeles-based architecture and design research organization. Architects and artists invited to participate will construct temporary forms and structures of ice on the Rochester Art Center. Unlike typical ice constructions that use blocks of ice to build more traditional structures or that use blocks of ice as a solid medium for carving sculpture, these constructions promise to make unusual use of water in both its liquid and frozen state. It’s an intriguing twist on using ice and water as an artistic medium.
Where: Rochester Art Center
When: January 6-7, from noon-5 pm both days
Tickets: FREE |
Literary Events
Free Verse: Neil Gaiman and
Dave McKean
Photo of Neil Gaiman (top) and Dave McKean (bottom) by Vanessa Kellas courtesy Rain Taxi
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As part of their Free Verse collaboration, Rain Taxi Review of Books and the Walker Art Center present an evening with beloved writer Neil Gaiman (Sandman series, American Gods, Anansi Boys, Fragile Things) and his frequent collaborator, the spectacular visual arts fantasist, Dave McKean (Sandman, Cages). At this special Free Verse event—which celebrates 20 years of the duo's artistic partnership—Gaiman and McKean will each offer a brief presentation of their individual work, then follow it up with an on-stage conversation about the aesthetic challenges they’ve faced both together and separately. This performance is a fitting finale to the fictional, fantastical worlds presented in the Walker's Heart of Darkness exhibition, which closes on January 14, 2007. If you can’t make it in person, you can also catch a live webcast of the event on the Walker’s website.
Where: Walker Art Center
When: Thursday, January 11, 2007 at 7 pm
Tickets: FREE (But tickets ARE required and may be picked up at the Walker box office beginning one hour before
the event) |
Holiday Performances
Christmas Goose! presented by Lil’s Burlesque Revue
Photo of the ladies of Lil's appears courtesy Lil's Burlesque Revue |
Cut through the treacle of the holidays with a very adult evening of bawdy comedy and Christmasy burlesque. This year Lil’s Burlesque Revue is dishing up its specialty — Christmas Goose !— featuring the talents of comedian Joshua Scrimshaw and the lovely ladies of the Tassel Time Players. Get a sitter for the kids and take in the show with your mate. This retro nod to old-school cabaret is so naughty, it's nice.
Where: Trocadero’s, Minneapolis
When: December 14, show at 9 pm (doors open at 7:30)
Tickets: $20 |
Secret Letters To Santa performed by Janelle Ranek
"Gloria" on Santa's lap, courtesy
Bryant Lake Bowl
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In what has become something of a tradition, Bryant Lake Bowl once again presents Secret Letters to Santa, written by Janelle Ranek and Jules Weiland. This one-woman play performed by Janelle Ranek is a send-up to the less laudable wishes offered to Santa, those filled with unseemly desires, obsessions, old smelly things, infections, and maybe even dementia. Forget asking for “peace on Earth"—these characters scribble, scratch, and babble all sorts of less-than-festive missives to Santa in this funny, unconventional holiday performance sure to ring your Christmas bell. And of course, “Gloria”, the vodka swilling, chain-smoking, crass old broad herself will dole out sage advice for getting over all your holiday woes.
Where: Bryant Lake Bowl Cabaret Theater, Minneapolis
When: Saturdays December 16 and 23 at 10 pm (doors at 9:30 pm); Sunday, December 17 at 7 pm (doors at 6 pm)
Tickets: $12-$15 (pay what you can). $10 with a
Fringe button. |
Vlog Santa
Vlog Santa in full regalia, standing by to take your holiday questions
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Just a suggestion: don’t put the kids on this Santa’s lap. This is the big man in his uncensored, off moments and he’s taking any and all of your seasonal queries. Here’s a message from the fat man himself: “Hey nitwits! You guys got questions, Vlog Santa’s got answers. And a little gas, too. Ahh you probly didn’t need to know about dat. Anyway, check back often and keep dem questions comin’. Remember it’s gotta be computer video though, cuz I don’t read too good.” Want an unconventional way to send your holiday greetings to friends and family? You can send a personalized Vlog Santa Video message, too. Click here to get started.
Where: www.vlogsanta.tv
When: Now through Christmas, email your (video only) questions to santa@vlogsanta.tv |
The Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company presents The Odd Potato
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Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company is offering its first musical production just in time for the holidays. The Odd Potato spins a heartwarming, occasionally silly tale about tradition, family, and love. Rachel Levy yearns to celebrate Hanukkah with the same joy her family did before her mother’s death, but as the holiday swiftly approaches, she can’t find the menorah, she doesn’t know how to make latkes, and her brother, Sammy, is preoccupied with winning the school talent show. How will she pull it all together? The Odd Potato is directed by seasoned veterans of the Minnesota musical theater scene, Randy Winkler and Kevin Dutcher.
Where: Hillcrest Center Theater
When: Show runs through December 22, see performance schedule here.
Tickets: Prices vary. For ticket reservations call 651-647-4315 or email info@mnjewishtheatre.org. |
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Photo of the Rose Ensemble appears courtesy of the artists
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The critically-hailed St. Paul-based Rose Ensemble will perform a program full of English Renaissance delights sure to put you in the spirit of the season: Latin and English motets by Thomas Tallis and William Byrd, joyful early carols and dances, and a beautiful new work by celebrated Twin Cities composer Abbie Betinis. You’ll also hear performances from special guests Julie Elhard (viola da gamba) and Phillip Rukavina (lute) with narration provided throughout by NPR’s “Savvy Traveler” Rudy Maxa.
You’ll have three opportunities to see this performance:
Where: Trinity Lutheran Church (115 N 4th Street at Myrtle), Stillwater
When: Thursday, December 21, 7:30pm
Tickets: $25 and $15, general seating
Where: Saint Thomas Aquinas Chapel, University of
Saint Thomas
When: Friday, December 22, 8:00pm
Tickets: $15, $23 and $33, reserved seating
Where: The Basilica of Saint Mary
(88 N 17th Street) Minneapolis
When: Saturday, December 23, 8:00pm
Tickets: $15, $23 and $33, reserved seating |
Visual Arts
Day of the Dead Steamroller Prints Closing Event
Steamroller print piece by Cristina Perez
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After a highly successful run of events celebrating Day of the Dead in Northfield, ArtOrg and Grupo Soap del Corazón, a Twin Cities Latino artists' group, brought a related art exhibition to the California Building Gallery in Northeast Minneapolis. Now, local arts lovers will have a final chance to celebrate the close of this fantastic event and see the resulting artwork comprised of thirteen 4 foot by 8 foot steamroller prints on paper and a 100-foot steamroller printed banner, all referencing the Latin American tradition of Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). It was an arduous, if gratifying, undertaking and the results are truly impressive. Take a look at a collection of some of the artists and artwork included in Northfield's Day of the Dead celebration on mnartists.org.
Where: California Building Gallery, Minneapolis
When: Show closing and celebration, Saturday, December 16, 7 to 10 pm; Gallery Hours: Thursday 12-8, Friday 12-6, Saturday 12-6
Tickets: FREE |
For more up-to-the-minute events listings, check out mnartists.org
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mnAccess |
Get 10% off any La Mano 21 title
OR
Save $5 on a signed copy of Zak Sally's comic, Recidivist
When you make your purchase from La Mano's website, put "mnartists" in the Paypal comments field to receive a rebate reflecting
the discount.
Offer is good through 12/31/06.
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CREDITS
Project Director, mnartists.org: Kathleen Kvern
access+ENGAGE Editor: Susannah Schouweiler
E-journal design: Brand & Butter
Featured Contributors and Artists
Banner image (cropped and reprinted with artist's permission): Baseball (3064 A.D.) by Ryan Kelly. Oil on canvas, 2005. For more information on this piece or others by Kelly, send your inquiries to Rogue Buddha Gallery.
This issue's Zoom In artwork is all by Ryan Kelly, specific works from top to bottom: Edina, acrylic on canvas, 2004; The Day I Met H.G. Wells, acrylic on board.
Photo of Ryan Kelly appears courtesy the artist. You can see much of Ryan Kelly's artwork on display at Rogue Buddha Gallery and keep track of his recent and upcoming comics happenings (Local, American Virgin) by reading his blog. Point of View contributor
Matt Konrad is a writer in Minneapolis. He blogs about life, culture, sports and whatever comes to mind at The Cash Box.
A note about our sponsor: If you're in the market for studio space in the Twin Cities,
check out Carleton Artist Lofts. The spaces are cool and it's a nice way to say thanks for their generous support of artists and access+ENGAGE.
access+ENGAGE is a twice monthly e-journal offering indispensable,
fuss-free coverage of the arts in Minnesota and beyond
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The mission of mnartists.org is to improve the lives of Minnesota artists and provide access to and engagement with Minnesota’s arts culture. |
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